Necktie protector

ABSTRACT

A TIE BIB FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONVENTIONAL FOUR-IN-HAND TIES AGAINST FOOD SPILLAGE AND SPOTTING IS PROVIDED BY THE PRESENT INVENTION. THE TIE BIB, WHICH HAS CONVERGENT SIDES AND GENERALLY RESEMBLES THE SHAPE OF A FOUR-IN-HAND TIE, IS CONSTITUTED OF A FRONT PANEL WITH REARWARD FOLDING FLAPS WHICH FORM A SHEATH WHEN THEY ARE FOLDED BACK AGAINST THE TIE BY MEANS OF THE FRONT PANEL. THE FORCE EXERTED BY THE FOLDED FLAPS AND THE CONVERGENT EDGES OF BOTH THE BIB AND THE TIE, KEEPS THE TWO IN PROPER RELATIVE POSITION WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER.   D R A W I N G

Nov. 9, 1971 L, RE-rzKm 3,618,138

NEGK'I'IE PROTECTOR Filed larch 2, 1970 INVENTOR.

LOU/S RE TZK 1W A TTORNEY 3.618,138 NECKTIE PROTECTOR Louis Retzkin, 24 Holly Lane, Port Chester, N.Y. 10573 Filed Mar. 2, 1970, Ser. No. 15,456 Int. Cl. A41d 27/12 US. Cl. 246 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A tie bib for the protection of conventional four-in-hand ties against food spillage and spotting is provided by the present invention. The tie bib, which has convergent sides and generally resembles the shape of a four-in-hand tie, is constituted of a front panel with rearward folding flaps which form a sheath when they are folded back against the tie by means of the front panel. The force exerted by the folded fiaps and the convergent edges of both the bib and the tie, keeps the two in proper relative position with respect to each other.

This invention relates to a tie bib which, in general, has the shape of a conventional four-in-hand tie. More specifically, the present invention relates to an extremely lowcost disposable tie protector which can be held in place on a conventional four-in-hand tie without the need of any means other than the tie protector itself.

It is well known that four-in-hand ties have a strong attraction for particles and drops of food being consumed by the person Wearin g the tie. It is quite common in restaurants serving seafood, a conspicuously badly staining food, to provide the user with a bib which fully covers the clothing which would otherwise be the target of a miscellany of shells and food particles propelled by Omnipotent forces on a trajectory of their own. These bibs are large and cumbersome and often so uncomfortable to wear that people are tempted to dispense with them and suffer the consequences of miscarried food particles and beverage drops.

The most sensitive garment is the four-in-hand tie, since it is normally made of a smooth, absorbent material on which stains stand out rather prominently. Attempts have been made to substitute a tie bib for the full torso bib, thereby providing protection for the most sensitive article of clothing and avoiding the discomfort attendant the wearing of a large, crinkly paper protector.

One type of tie bib is disclosed in U.S. Patent 2,423,581, issued July 8, 1947 to F. Clark. Clark describes a bib having a front panel with parallel side edges and rearwardly folding flaps and a flat strip of pliable metal used to attach the bib to the tie. Without the metal strip, the bib Would tend to slide down and eventually slip off of the tie, leaving it unprotected. US. Patent 2,747,192, issued about a decade after, to S. S. Katz, describes an embodiment of a tie protector which takes advantage of the availability of relatively low cost plastic materials. The Katz tie bib is a plastic bag shaped to the general contour of a four in-hand tie. The user inserts the lower end of his own tie into the tie bag and then fastens the flat metal strip which is attached to the upper end of the protector around his tie just below the bight. The Katz device while having advantages naturally flowing from the use of waterproof plastic material, is relatively complex in that it requires the sealing step necessary to join the front and back plastic parts to form the tie-back and, additionally, requires the insertion of a flat metal strip without which the tie protector could not possibly stay in place on the tie.

Efforts to provide simple and effective tie protectors have continued along quite diverse pathways. An example of an extremely complicated device is disclosed in U.S. Patent 3,085,247, issued Apr. 16, 1963 to G. T. Bixby.

The Bixby tie protector, which is quite similar to a window I United States Patent "ice shade roller, allows the user to wear the tie protector in an inconspicuous condition when it is not in use. As soon as the need for protection is ascertained, the user can quickly roll an exposed end of the protective covering upward and clip it by means provided for this purpose to his collar. Simultaneously, a counterpart strip unrolls and is pulled by gravity to cover the lower half of the fourin-hand tie. While the Bixby device has advantages, it is not the type of device which could be classified as a disposable, low-cost tie protector.

In view of the foregoing state of the art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a tie protector which is both inexpensive and elfective. It is a further object of this invention to provide a disposable tie bib which can be placed over a four-in-hand tie and is held in place without relying upon extraneous fastening means. (Jther objects will be apparent from the ensuing specification and the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is the front elevational view of the tie protector of this invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a necktie protected with a tie bib embodying the principle of the present invention.

The tie protectors of the present invention can advantageously be made of low-cost materials such as paper having sufiicient body to retain the fold line needed to keep the tie protector in place over the tie. The paper stock may be glazed and imprinted with any desired matter. The invention contemplates the use of either waterproof or absorbent paper.

Referring now to FIG. 1, tie protector 1 in prepared from 16-pound starch-sized paper stock. The front panel 2 is circumscribed by top edge 3, lower edges 4 and generally divergent fold lines 5 extending from top edge 3 to bottom edges 4. Fold lines are directed so that right rear panel 6 and left rear panel 7 fold rearwardly from front panel 2.

The convergency of the two roughly vertical fold lines separating the front and rear panels should be generally similar to the portion of the four-in-hand tie which is gen erally prominent when the tie is worn. The width of the front panel of the tie protector of this invention can be varied to accommodate the sizes of four-in-hand ties generally in vogue without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention.

FIG. 2 shows the tie protector of this invention in place over a four-in-hand tie knotted and in place under the collar of a dress shirt. Panel 1 of the tie protector extends the full length of the tie from just below the bight 10. The lower edge 4 of the tie protector thus shields even the lower edge of the tie. Rear panels 6 and 7 by virtue of fold lines 5 exert a pressure against the tie and thus hold the tie pr0- tector in a relatively immovable condition. By virtue of the divergency of the side edges of the tie and the small size of the top edge of the tie protector, there is no tendency for the tie protector to slip down and out of place. Thus the tie protector of this invention affords proection without any need for fastening means to hold it in place. It will be understood, however, that the present invention contemplates the use of simple expedients such as adhesives to insure the secure placing of the tie protector over the tie. In one form, a contact adhesive is placed on the outside of the right rear panel in a position such that when the two rear panels are folded, the adhesive contacts the left rear panel where the two panels overlap. Thus, the two rear panels are adhesively secured to each other and form a sheath which holds the tie within it. Such a sheath is resistant to distorting forces which would permit the tie to become exposed without the protection provided by the tie bib of this invention.

It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described hereinbefore may be modified without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is to be limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A bib for the protection of a four-in-hand tie comprising a front panel having the general shape of the exposed part of a four-in-hand necktie, the side edges of the front panel being generally divergent from top to bottom; right and left flaps foldably connected to the corresponding divergent edges of the different panels and positioned so that when the flaps are in the folded condition they rest behind the front panel and form therewith a sheath having the general shape of a four-in-hand tie.

2. The tie protector of claim 1 wherein the lower edges of the front panel are steeply convergent from the side edges and form an inverted apex at the lower extremity of the front panel.

4 3. The tie protector of claim 2 wherein one rear flap has a self-stick adhesive spot which engages the overlapping portion of the opposite flap when the two overlapping flaps are folded rearwardly to form the tie-embrac- 5 ing sheath.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 2,423,581 7/1947 Clark 2-46 2,747,192 5/1956 Katz 246 3,085,247 4/1963 Bixby 2-46 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

